Here’s another Islay treat. Lagavulin is Diageo’s other Islay distillery (besides Caol Ila), and this particular release is part of their “Friends of Classic Malts” series of special releases.

After a couple of years trying various bottlings, I really feel I’m beginning to understand Lagavulin.

Ardbeg and Laphroaig are big, shouty, extroverted whiskies. The former is full of proud, earthy peat flavour; the latter has that distinctly medicinal, iodine quality. Of the three Islay distilleries in Kildalton, Laga is the quiet and unassuming one in the middle – soft, subtle, and elegantly understated.

Palate: Would never guess this is a first-fill sherry if I hadn’t read it beforehand. Sweet wood smoke leads the way, developing into savoury cereal and wood notes. The sweetness seems to come from the barley, rather than the grape, and so it’s not over-powering at all, revealing more of those savoury notes: liquorice, toasted-oak (with only a tiny hint of vanilla) and some maritime mineral flavours.

I could happily just nose this whisky all night – the balance between sweet fruit and savoury peat is spot-on and the subtle notes just keep on evolving in the glass. I’d love to know what kind of sherry was in the barrel beforehand.

The way they’ve got the sherry notes on the nose, but have reserved the palate for those malty, oaky, peaty flavours is a stroke of genius, since it gives you the opportunity to appreciate each set of flavours distinctly.

After the fruity nose, and knowing it was matured in a first-fill barrel, I was expecting a sherry monster… but there’s no monsters here.

Cracking stuff.

Thanks very much to the Blankenstijn family at WhiskySample.nl for the taster.

Like smoking a mild, sweet cigar by a fire in an old antique shop after eating a lemon meringue pie. Glorious.

Remarkably smooth and mellow for a 59% cask strength Islay. 24 years in barrel have created a really round, soft flavour so the peat shout is now all but a whisper. This has softened the character to one with more ashy, sooty notes than fresh smoke. Sort of like the dry, dusty embers of a beach fire…

I do love a Lagavulin 12. The 16 is sublime but I like the unsherried character of the younger brother – that lack of sweet edge reveals some very tasty savoury elements. And a cask-strength Islay is always a winner in my book.

Palate: Muscavado sugar and meadow flowers with more soft fruit. A definite flavour of red wine gums, with a wonderful waxy mouthfeel.

Finish: Honey and spicy oak, cardamon, a touch of clove.

So, this one had a lot of attention after winning a slew of awards in 2013 and 2014 (see Master of Malt for a list). Australian whisky isn’t something you see every day, so it’s a pleasure to try a sample

I do like the very waxy, wine-gum-esque mouthfeel and the notes of soft red fruits – it’s not a combination I’ve come across before as far as flavour profiles go.

I’ve seen the French Oak on sale at staggering prices and it’s nigh-on-impossible to get hold of a bottle unless you’re buying at auction. It’s very nice, but I think the huge amount of media attention it’s received has inflated the expectations (and price) beyond a level the whisky can represent. It’s good stuff, but I think the scarcity and novelty of it is driving the price far more than the liquid itself.

A bar in Manchester is selling 2.5cl measures for £16 a pop. I bought my 5cl sample from The Whisky Tasting Club for a mere £9. Bargain!

I’ve had the busiest December I can ever remember. Our house purchase finally completed so we’ve been frantically moving in and unpacking. Our baby is due any day now so we’ve been buying all the clothes and bits and bobs that little humans need.

Into the mix we’ve had all the usual Christmas business of cooking, wrapping, unwrapping and visiting.

Luckily, I’ve still found some time to relax and enjoy a dram or two here and there over the holidays.

Sullivan’s Cove French Oak

Palate: Muscavado sugar and meadow flowers with more soft fruit. A definite flavour of red wine gums, with a wonderful waxy mouthfeel.

Finish: Honey and spicy oak, cardamon, a touch of clove.

So, this one had a lot of attention after winning a slew of awards in 2013 and 2014 (see Master of Malt for a list). Australian whisky isn’t something you see every day, so it’s a pleasure to try a sample

I do like the very waxy, wine-gum-esque mouthfeel and the notes of soft red fruits – it’s not a combination I’ve come across before as far as flavour profiles go.

I’ve seen the French Oak on sale at staggering prices and it’s nigh-on-impossible to get hold of a bottle unless you’re buying at auction. It’s very nice, but I think the huge amount of media attention it’s received has inflated the expectations (and price) beyond a level the whisky can represent. It’s good stuff, but I think the scarcity and novelty of it is driving the price far more than the liquid itself.

A bar in Manchester is selling 2.5cl measures for £16 a pop. I bought my 5cl sample from The Whisky Tasting Club for a mere £9. Bargain!

I do love a Lagavulin 12. The 16 is sublime but I like the unsherried character of the younger brother – that lack of sweet edge reveals some very tasty savoury elements. And a cask-strength Islay is always a winner in my book.

Like smoking a mild, sweet cigar by a fire in an old antique shop after eating a lemon meringue pie. Glorious.

Remarkably smooth and mellow for a 59% cask strength Islay. 24 years in barrel have created a really round, soft flavour so the peat shout is now all but a whisper. This has softened the character to one with more ashy, sooty notes than fresh smoke. Sort of like the dry, dusty embers of a beach fire…

Here’s a little bit of fun! A single cask bottling of Macallan at cask strength from WhiskyBroker.co.uk.

I have to confess that I don’t often drink Macallan. The good stuff’s expensive, and the affordable stuff is… a bit predictable and inoffensive for my taste. So it’s a treat to try a single cask at cask strength, with no smoothing the rough edges or cosmetic tweaking.

It’s like a fruity sour mash whiskey. But…. add some water (about 20%) and it transforms completely. The fruitiness is still there but the sour and bitter notes have softened, revealing the underlying malty, cereal notes. Still appley, but much smoother and cleaner.

Maybe it’s just this cask that’s a bit off, or perhaps Macallan really shines at lower ABV than other whiskies – either way, this one’s definitely better at 40% than 49%.

Interesting stuff from the Edrington chaps. People really go mad for sherried Macallan so it’s nice to have a Bourbon cask for a change. Those hallmark apple and pear flavours really shine through, particularly on the nose.